As a young person who entered the world of full-time work just a handful of years ago, one of the things I had to figure out was how to negotiate my salary. Salary negotiation is definitely not something they teach at school and there’s no workplace course giving you the rundown on how it all works, so you’ve got to figure it out for yourself through trial and error (and if you’re lucky a family member, friend or colleague might share some of their experiences).

I think we talk about salary negotiation even less than we talk about our super, and that’s pretty crazy! The sad thing is, that by shrouding the entire process in mystery, we can end up with much less than we deserve, and that has a massive impact over the course of our careers.

Working harder isn’t enough to get most of us a raise, so we have to ask for it.

Companies will rarely approach you with their best offer or a with a 10% pay rise on a silver platter — they will wait for you to ask for it. If you think about yourself as a service that your employer is purchasing, why would they go ahead and offer to pay 10% more for that service if they don’t need too? We often think that our employer will see our hard work and achievements and decide we deserve more, which unfortunately isn’t the case!

First things first — work out what you actually want and why you deserve it.

Salary negotiation experts suggest working out your three key figures, your wish, want and walk numbers.

WISH — This is the crazy number that you don’t think would possibly be accepted by your employer.

WANT — This is the number that you want to be paid, and you think it’s appropriate compensation for all of the hard work you do.

WALK — Finally, this is the number where you say to yourself, I’m worth more than this and I can be more fairly compensated elsewhere.

Understand your audience, industry and organisational pay structure (aka do your research)!

Some organisations have transparent salaries, some have structured salary scales, some base it off other competitors and other organisations pay based on time or experience. Know how your company works and chat with your colleagues about the way they’ve approached salary negotiations in the past.

Here are a few resources to gain a better understanding of what your role is currently being paid at other companies:

  • Seek: An Aussie favourite, use Seek to do your research and work out what your role is currently worth. Do you have in-demand skills that employers are actively recruiting for? Are there skills you can learn that may increase your value to your employer?
  • Glassdoor: Have a sneak peek into what other employees are saying anonymously about companies and the salary they receive.
  • PayScale: Use this site to find average salaries at different companies and average salaries for different roles across the industry. This will help formulate your wish, want and walk numbers.
  • Ask a friend: Ask others who work in the same industry and who are at a similar level to you, how much they are paid. This will give you an idea of the current salaries being offered. Even better if a colleague is willing to shed some light on what your employer is shelling out for their role.
  • Google it: Research online for different companies and roles alongside the word “salary”. Maybe try “salaries at XYZ” or “how much to XYZs earn”. You’ll be amazed at what information you can find!

Build a case for a pay rise (client feedback, product improvements, additional training & responsibility)

Your manager won’t recall everything that you’ve done during the year so make it easy for them, especially if they need to advocate for your pay rise higher up, or split a certain amount between multiple employees. Give them reasons and evidence to justify your request.

Just because you know your worth, doesn’t mean everyone else will.

Practice with a trusted friend or family member

Practice explaining your case and exactly what you want. How will you react if your manager responds by saying “no” to you? How will you bring up the topic in the conversation? What’s your plan of attack?

Be professional

Even if your manager is your best friend, this is a serious discussion so make sure they see it that way. Take the emotion out of it — and approach the conversation as a business meeting.

Be willing to compromise

The company may only be able/willing to increase your salary by X amount, but that doesn’t mean you can’t combine it with other non-monetary benefits such as extra annual leave, additional training, commissions/bonuses, equity, an afternoon off each month etc. Get creative!

It can certainly be a nerve-wracking experience, but by taking some steps to prepare for the conversation, you’ll improve your chances of successfully navigating the salary negotiation conversation.

I’d love to hear your salary negotiation stories (the good, bad and ugly) — so send them my way at howtomoneyaus@gmail.com. Let’s start the conversation!

Kate

Resources

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